LYNYRD SKYNYRD: Remembering the Free Birds of Southern Rock

This faithful bio of the Southern rock superstars by Odom, bodyguard and childhood friend, and journalist Dorman, starts with the plane crash that killed three band members, including charismatic singer Ronnie Van Zant. Before and after takeoff, Odom details how he repeatedly approached the cockpit and warned the pilots that the plane was malfunctioning, once even telling them, "I care an awful lot about these people," only to be told to return to his seat. Following that chapter, Odom wisely takes a backseat, and in turn offers up an earnest and informative look at the band, from their childhood days hunting squirrels in Jacksonville, Fla., to forming the group in high school and becoming one of the biggest rock bands in America. A later chapter describes the crash in sobering detail, while examining what went wrong. Much more entertaining are Skynyrd's Spinal Tap–esque problems finding the right bassist, and the genesis of the band name, which was based on a no-nonsense high school gym teacher named Leonard Skinner, who constantly apprehended the boys for smoking marijuana. Van Zant dominates the book, and the authors effectively show both his hard-drinking, brawling side, and his softer touches. The authors at times slip into overly floral prose, such as a description of the original version of the anthemic "Free Bird": "this comparative sparrow of a song was surely a hit in the making, but not yet the eagle to come." When the authors simply tell the story, they do it just fine. (Oct.)